Locking mechanism



March 27, 192& 1,664,042

E. w. MQGINLEY LOCKING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 23. 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 1March 27, 1928. 1,664,042

E. W. M GINLEY LOCKING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 23. 1926 3'Sheets-Sheet 2March 27, 1928. 1,664,042

E. w. M GINLEY LOCKING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 23. 1926 s Sheets-Sheet a II O 3 6'1 a 60 3mm MAQM Patented Mar. 27, l928.-

UNITED STA EDWARD w. MQGINLEY, or PHILADELPHIA, PEN YLVANIA.

LOCKING MECHANISM.

7 Application filed December 23,1926. Serial No. 156,733.

One object of my invention is to devise a novel construct-ionof alocking mechanism which is adapted to be employed to lock-any desiredmechanism,

-Anotherobject of my invention is to devise a novel lock which can beset for any desired key, and wherein the actuation of c an improper keywill prevent the unlocking of'the lock. v

Another object of my invention is to at vise a novel lockingmechanismbfor automobiles wlnchwlll lock the gear shiftinglever of amotor vehicle 1n itsneutra'l positlon irrespective of the position inwhich it is.

located, said locking mechanism being preferably controlledbythe'opening of a door of the motor vehicle. 1

With the above and other objects in view as will hereinafter moreclearly appear, my

invention comprehends a novel locking mechanism.

Other novel features of construction and advantage will hereinafterclearly appear in the detailed description and 'the appended claims. l

For the purposeof illustratingthe invention, drawing a typicalembodiment of it, which, in practice, will give reliable andsatisfactoryresults. It is, however, to be understood that thisembodiment typical only and that the various instrumentalities of which'my invention consistscan be varig ously arranged and organized, andthat the invention is not, therefore, limited tofthe precise arrangementand organization of these instrumentalities as herein set forth. Figure1 is atop plan view of alocking mechanism, embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Figure 11.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of a bottom locking lever.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of a top looking lever. p r Figure 5 isabottom plan View of the locking mechanism.

Figure 6 is a section on line 66 of.Fig-- ure l.

Figure 7 is a top plan view of a locking member and certain of itsadjuncts.

Figure 8 is a side elevation of a key. Figure 9 is a. section on line9-9 of Figure 8.

' hicle. H

S1m1la'r' numerals indicate corresponding I have shown in the'accompanying I housing the manner in whlch it-is secured Figure 10 .isa bottom plan view of a key showing'one of the, arrangements which canbe'employed. Y

Figural-1 is a'section through the locking mechanism and the motorvehicle transmission, on l1ne:1111 of Flgure 2.

Figure-12 is a diagrammatlc view showing -its control by the doorsof amotor vepart s. V

lteferrmg to the drawings 'The supportmg frame work. or housing may 1vary widely in construction, and for convenience of illustration Ihaveshown it as consisting of a casing 1,to which is se-' cured La bottomplate 2 bymeans of rods 3 passingthroughthe top ofth'e casing andinthreaded engagementwith the bottom plate. It will be noticed thatthese fastening rods 3do not pass through the bot-- tom plate and thecasing is counter sunk to receive'the heads of the rods so that moltenmetal may be poured into cover the heads after the rods havewbeenscrewed in a. position so that it is practically'impossible to tell fromthe appearanceof the casing or together. I j" The locking mechanism isconcealed within the casing 1 and is supported on a pair of plates 4which are fixed to a bottom plate -5 having a longitudinally extendingrecess 6, see 'more particularly Figure 1'1, in which is mounted toslide in opposite directions the slides 7-. p

As each'slide and its a'djuncts is of the same construction, I have, forthe sake of brevity, described in detail the construction of but one ofthese slidable units.

Referring'now more particularly, to Figure 7, it will'be seen that eachof the sliding locking mechanisms consist of a slide 7 in the form ofiaplate havinga' predetermined number of apertures 8, the purpose of whichwill hereinafter clearly appear. Each slide .7 is connected atits outerend to a cross bar .9 to which may be connected, if desired, and in anydesiredmanner, an actuatingrod 10.

Each cross bar 9 has fixed to it guide rods 11 which pass through thedeflected aperture ears 12 of the guide brackets 13. I

In order to provide for the simultaneous movement in oppositedirectionsof the slides ner end of which is rounded, and from this.

rounded portion, theopposite side of the walls of the recess divergetoward the end of the locking member 17 as-indicated at 19-;

The slides 7 are retained in position by means of a. top plate 20 whichis secured to the bottom plate 5 by means of fastening devices 21, seeFigure 1'. The bottom plate 5 has connected with it as illustrated,bottom'brackets 22 through which pass rods 23 which serve as fulcrumsfor a. series of levers 24 having pivotally connected wit'h them lockingpins 25. These levers 24 have piv oted to them at their free ends, therods 26 which: pass through a line of apertures 27' in the bottom plate5and the top plate 20, and are connected with the arms 28", from whichextend upwardly the pins 29.

These arms 28' are in threaded engagement with their rods 26 and betweensuch arms and the top plate 20 are interposed springs30: which tend tomaintain the pins 29 and their adjuncts in. their raised position.

The locking pins 25 of the levers 24, are

adapted to pass through apertures 31 in the:

bottom plate 5* and if an aperture 8, in the plate 7 registerstherewith, it will pass through such registering" aperture 8 and retain.a: slide 7 in its. locked position. These levers 24 and locking pins 31,I term. for the purpose of description, as the; bottom locking leversand locking pins.

The. top plate 20 is provided with brackets32 through which pass therods 34 which serve as fulcrums for sets of top levers 35 having lockingpins 36" pivotally connectedto them and adapted to' pass through aper--tures 37 in the top:- plate 20' and registering aperture 8.

These levers 35 haveconnected to their free ends the locking pins 38which extend aboveand below their levers so. thatthelower portion isadapted to enter the line of apertures 27 in the top-'plate-20' andthebottom plate 5 respectively.v Between the top plate 20 and the lovers35. are interposed springs 39 which tend to maintain the looking pins 36in their unlocked position.

The locking rods 38 have adjustably connected with them the arms 40, andas illustrated, the arms 40 are in threaded engagement. with the upperends of the rods 38.

The arms 40 are connected at their free ends with upwardly extendingpins 41. The pins 41 and 29 may be called key pins and ing this sleeveis a spring 43, the function of which is.- to eject th'e'- 'key' 44 whenthe operator removes his hand from the key so that the key will not beretained in the. space 45, see Figure 6, formed by the upward extendingapertured' boss ofthe'top face of the casing; 1,; as. will be understoodby reference to Figures 2 and 6.

The sleeve 42:. is provided with the ribs 46, see Figures 1 and 2, andthe sleeve 47 of the key is provided. with slots 48. Contained withinthe. sleeve 47 are the key pins 49' which are fixed in a block 50,vsecured.

in any desired manner within thev sleeve,

and the sleeve is surrounded by a collar 51 from; which extends a plate52 which forms. a grasping. handle.

The casing 1 is; provided with anextension.

53 having a tapered opening through it in order to be adapted to' fitover a corresponding' tapered portiono-f the housing 54 of thetransmission of the motor vehicle, and" such portionot the transmissionhousing of the extending casing53, isalpertured at 55- in order toreceive the: locking plates 17,. which are adapted to lock the gearshift lever 56 of the transmission in: its neutral position,irrespective of the position to which it has been moved by the operator.

It. is one of the objects of this inventionto provide a lockingmechanism. whichv can be controlled by the doors of the automobile, suchas, for example, the doors providing access tothe'driversseat, so thatthe opening of such door or doors will auto matically move the gearshift lever 56 to its neutral-position and lock it in, such position,due to the action of opening the doors through an intermediate.mechanism operatively connected with the actuating moving the slides 7into such {JOSH/10m that their apertures 8 will register with one ormore of the lockingr pins and thus cause the locking mechanism. to bepositively locked.

The connect-ing means between the doors 57 and the rods 10 to causev theslides 7 tomove toward each other may vary widely in practice, and for.the purpose of illustration,

I have shown. the doors 57 as provided; with the hooks 5.8, which duringthe opening movement of a door 57 are adapted to engagethe upwardlyextending rods 59, carried by the levers 60 fulcrumed at 61. isconnected at one end to a lever 60 and. is: connected at its oppositeend to the links 63 A link 62v and 64. The link 64 has a fixed pivot65;,

and the link 63 is its actuating rod. 10, I

It will thus be seen that if a door, leading to the drivers seat isopened, the hook 58' cooperating with: the rod. 59v will cause the link62 to bemoved laterally thereby forcing;

a rod 10, its slide and adjuncts, into locking position. The slides 7are connected tomovef pivotally connected, with.

rods 10,

in unison as before explained sothatwhen one slide is operated it willefi'ect the actuation of the other slide. V

This movement towards each slides 7 into their locking posit-ion causesthe locking member 17 to move toward each other so as to embrace thegear shift lever 56 and due to the outwardly diverting walls 19,

it will be apparent that irrespective of the position in whichthis gearshift lever mayhave been moved, this. movement toward each other of thelocking- .plates 17. will and its adjuncts, or in other words theunlocking movement of the locking mechanism when the locking pins arereleased, is due to the provision of springs 66 interposed between thebars 9 and the apertured ears 12 of the brackets 13, these springs belng'carried by'the'gulde rods 11 as Wlll be clearly seen from Figures 1 and5-. v

In Figure 10, I have shown the key as arranged for one arrangement,-andif any other arrangement'is provided, it will be impossible to effectthe unlocking of the locking mechanism, or it the parts are in thelrlocked posltlon and an unauthorized person should press down a key pin41 which does not form a part of the predetermined arrangement. it willbe apparent that a locking pin 36 will enter an aperture 8 in aslide 7so that the locking mechanism will not become unlocked.

It will also be apparent that in case an unauthorized person uses thekey 44:, seen in Figure 10, and in addition a pin which will actuate oneof the locking pins 36, that while the lower locking pins 25 wouldrelease the slide 7, the upper locking pins 36 would enter apertures 8in the plate 7 and prevent the unlocking movement of the locking member17.

If the key pins 49 of the key are of the proper arrangement to contactwith the key pins 26, it will be apparent that if the proper key forwhich the key pins 29 are arranged is inserted. that the locking pins 25will be released and the springs 66 will cause the bars 9 and theiradjuncts to move outwardly thereby moving the locking members 17 intotheir locked position.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

other of the 1'. The combination with the transmission of a motorVehicle .and a door, controlling access'to the driVerSseat, oflockingmechanism controlled by the opening ofsaid door and eiiective 'toautomatically lock. said transniiission' in its neutral positionTFI'QSPQC'.

tive of the position in which it'has been set. 2. The combination w1ththe transmisslon ot a motor vehicle, and doorsflcontrolling access tothe drivers seat, of locking mechanism controlled by the opening ofeither of said doors to automatically lock said transmission in itsneutral position, said doors being free to be opened and closed when thelocking mechanism is locked without affecting its locked condition.

3. The combination with the gear shifting le'vcr-ofa motor vehicle and adoorcontrolling access to the drivers seat, ofmeans controlled by theopening of said door to lock said lever in its neutral position, saiddoor being free to be opened and closed when said lever is locked.

4-.The combination with the gear shifting lever of a motor vehicle and adoor con-. trolling access to the drlvers seat, of meanscontrolled bythe opening of said door to move said lever into neutral andto lock itin neutral. I

5. The combination with the gear shifting lover of a motor vehicle, anda door leading tothe drivers seat, of locking mechanism actuated by'theopening of said door to lock said lever in its neutral position,

and said door being thereafter free to close and open without affectingsaid locking mechanism until the latter has been released.

6. The. combination with thetransmission of a motor vehicle, of a keycontrolled lock to unlock said transmission, and means controlled by adoor of said motor vehicle to automatically lock said transmission inits neutral position.

7. In a lock'ng mechanism, a body portion, a slide within said bodyportion, a locking plunger operatively connected with said slide, saidbody portion and slide having registering apertures when the slide is inits locked position, locking pins to enter said apertures, key controlpins to control said locking' pins, and resilient means to move saidslide into its unlocked position.

8. In a locking mechanism, a body portion, a plurality of slides mountedwithin said portion to move in opposite directions when released, saidbody portion and slides having registering apertures when the slides arein looking position, locking pins to enter said apertures and adapted tobe unlocked by a key, and resilient means to retain the pins in lockedposition.

9. In a locking mechanism a body portion, a slide slidably carried bysaid body portion, said slide and body portion having registeringapertures when in locked posiadapted to enter certain of saidapertures,-

tion, a l'ocking member connected'wvith said slide to: be actuatedthereby, locking pins resilient means to retain said locking membersinlocked position, said locking members being adapted to be released by akey,

members of thesecond set, the locking mechsition.

10. In a locking mechanism, a body portion, plates slidably carriedthereby, said anism will still be retained in its locked po- 1 bodyportion and plates having registering apertures when the plates are inlocking position, locking members actuated by said plates, bottom levershaving locking members to enter sald apertures, key controlled lockingpins connected with said levers to actuate them, resilient means tendingto move sald locking levers and thereby their 'locking pins into theirlocked position, an vupper set of levers, locking members carried bysaid upper set of levers and adapted toenter certain of said apertures,key controlled locking pins connected With said upper set of levers toactuate them, all

ot said locking pins being assembled in close relation to adapt them toreceive a key havingpins to cooperate with them. 7

11'. In a locking mechanism, a body por-' tion', a sealed casing Withinwhich said body portion is located and: provided With akey receivingopening, plates slidably carried by said body portion, said bodyportionand plates having registering apertures When the plates are in lockingposition, locking members exteriorly of said casing and operativelycon-nected with said plates, hottomv leverssuitably fulcrumed and havingI looking members to enter certain of said apertures, controlled pinslocated at said key receiving opening and operatively connected withsaid levers," springs tending to: move said levers into the lockingposi-' tion of said locking members, upper levers suitably fulerumed andhaving locking members to enter certain of said apertures,

springs tendingto move said upper levers into the unlocked position oftheir lock-- ving members," key controlled locking pins for said: upperlevers located at said key:

receiving opening, and resilient means to effect the unlockingmovement'ot said plates when released by their locking members.

12'. In a locking mechanism, a body portion, a slide movably' carried bysaid body portion, said body portion and slidehav- V mg registeringapertures when the slides are in looking position, resilient means tomove the slides intotheir unlocked position, locking pins to enterregistering-apertures, pincarriers having key controlled pinsoperatively connected with them, and. a sleeve Within which said keycontrolled pins are disposed and having means to position a key forcooperation With said key controlled 7 pins.

EDWARD W. MoG INIj-JEY. i

